Community Cupboard renamed after Dr. Mara Bollettieri

The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District food pantry has been renamed after former Deputy Superintendent Dr. Mara Bollettieri.

The Dr. Mara Bollettieri Community Cupboard was created in 2016, an effort spearheaded by Bollettieri, who retired from the district, and Meadowbrook Alternative Program teachers Karin McMahon and Tiffany Rzempoluch. MAP school nurse Darlene Boden and teacher Catrina Christensen now also serve as chief organizers. The board of education approved the renaming during its Feb. 2 meeting.

“We wanted to thank Dr. Bollettieri for her great leadership and service,” said Superintendent Michael Harrington. “She has a selfless sense of service and forever will be remembered for making all of us all better people and this district a better place.”

“We will truly miss the light that shines from her,” Julie Moehringer, a Calhoun student liaison to the board, said at the meeting.

The Community Cupboard currently serves between 60-75 families on a biweekly basis. Students engage in a variety of philanthropic fundraising and pantry-filling drives throughout the year, including a districtwide annual Day of Service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Community Cupboard has even inspired an extracurricular club at Sanford H. Calhoun High School, the Cluboard. Students and adviser/Assistant Principal Mark Melkonian stepped up in response to the community’s need to continuously fill the shelves. MAP and PREP Academy students also built raised garden beds for fresh produce during harvesting months.

David Seinfeld, who has served in various administrative roles throughout the district and the Merrick Union Free School District, will replace Bollettieri as Bellmore-Merrick deputy superintendent for the remainder of the school year.

Anyone interested in donating pantry, hygiene, baby or pet items, organizing the pantry or making deliveries to drop off sites can call 516-992-1073 or visit http://www.bellmore-merrick.k12.ny.us/resources/community_cupboard.

Courtesy Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District; compiled by Jordan Vallone.